The mainstream media are making almost no effort today to fit Charlie Rowley’s account of his poisoning into the already ludicrous conspiracy theory being peddled by the government and intelligence agencies.

ITV News gamely inserted the phrase “poisoned by a Russian nerve agent” into their exclusive interview with Charlie Rowley, an interview in which they managed to ask no penetrating questions whatsoever, and of which they only broadcast heavily edited parts. Their own website contains this comment by their journalist Rupert Evelyn:

He said it was unopened, the box it was in was sealed, and that they had to use a knife in order to cut through it.

“That raises the question: if it wasn’t used, is this the only Novichok that exists in this city? And was it the same Novichok used to attack Sergei and Yulia Skripal?

But the information about opening the packet with a knife is not in the linked interview. What Rowley does say in the interview is that the box was still sealed in its cellophane. Presumably it was the cellophane he slit open with a knife.

So how can this fit in to the official government account? Presumably the claim is that Russian agents secretly visited the Skripal house, sprayed novichok on the door handle from this perfume bottle, and then, at an unknown location, disassembled the nozzle from the bottle (Mr Rowley said he had to insert it), then repackaged and re-cellophaned the bottle prior to simply leaving it to be discovered somewhere – presumably somewhere indoors as it still looked new – by Mr Rowley four months later. However it had not been found by anyone else in the interim four months of police, military and security service search.

Frankly, the case for this being the bottle allegedly used to coat the Skripals’ door handle looks wildly improbable. But then the entire government story already looked wildly improbable anyway – to the extent that I literally do not know a single person, even among my more right wing family and friends, who believes it. The reaction of the media, who had shamelessly been promoting the entirely evidence free “the Russians did it” narrative, to Mr Rowley’s extremely awkward piece of news has been to shove it as far as possible down the news agenda and make no real effort to reconcile it.

By his own account, Mr Rowley is not a reliable witness, his memory affected by the “Novichok”. It is not unreasonable to conjecture there may also be other reasons why he is vague about where and how he came into possession of this package of perfume.

The perfume bottle is now in the hands of the Police. Is it not rather strange that they have not published photos of it, to see if it jogs the memory of a member of the public who saw it somewhere in the last four months, or saw somebody with it? The “perpetrators” know what it looks like and already know the police have it, so that would not give away any dangerous information. You might believe the lockdown of the story and control of the narrative is more important to the authorities than solving the crime, which we should not forget is now murder.

858 thoughts on “The Silence of the Whores”

Two days after Dawn and Charlie were admitted to hospital, and as a direct result of the Amesbury incident, Detective Sergent Erin Martin of Salisbury CID took the “…unusual step…” of issuing an official warning via Wiltshire Constabulary to “…drug users…” in south Wiltshire “to be extra cautious”, . “We are asking anyone who may have information about this batch of drugs to contact the Police”, “…where the drugs may have been bought from, or who they may have been sold to.”

“NERVE agent survivor Charlie Rowley has been rushed to intensive care after going blind, according to reports.

“Mr Rowley, of Durrington, had previously spent almost two weeks in a coma after coming into contact with Novichok.
His brother Matthew told the Sun: “I have spoken to him and he went temporarily blind and couldn’t see anything.”
It is not believed to be a result of his previous nerve agent poisoning.”

In today’s Daily Mail article about Charlie being rushed to Salisbury Hospital with temporary blindness, it states that his blindness was not linked with novichok. However, it includes some information from a Dr Andrea Sella, prof of inorganic chemistry at University College, which includes her opinion on the rate at which the agent degrades:

“Dr Sella said it is “very disturbing” that the agent has been found four months after the first attack, but Novichok is designed not to break down.
“These things are designed to be persistent,” he said.
“They don’t evaporate, they don’t break up in water. The last four months have been dry so I suspect they can be there for quite a long time.”
If the substance was sealed, perhaps in a drinks bottle, then it could take even longer to break down, he added.”

From the little I have read, novichok does break down in the presence of water. For example, here is a quote from a Robert Stockman, prof of inorganic chemistry at Nottingham University:

“Within the environment, these agents react with water to degrade, including moisture in the air, and so in the UK they would have a very limited lifetime. This is presumably why the street in Salisbury was being hosed down as a precaution – it would effectively destroy the agent.”

Well that doesn’t say much for professors of inorganic chemistry (the one who’s wrong at least)!

I think Max_B has previously mentioned that Fentanyl and its derivatives are water soluble. He has also pointed out that no official, incontrovertible identification of the so-called nerve agent has yet been forthcoming, with the concomitant likelihood that the authorities are holding to a general interpretation, one which would include such chemicals as carfentanyl, which has in fact been previously deployed as a nerve agent.

As regards Charlie’s ‘blindness’, it was only temporary (an extreme case of ‘blurred vision?).

‘Novichok poisoning victim Charlie Rowley is back in the hospital intensive care unit he was discharged from a month ago.

‘He was taken there on Friday after falling ill at home where he was continuing his recovery from the effects of the nerve agent.

‘It is understood he is critically ill and being treated for something unrelated to the poisoning which almost killed him.

‘His brother Matthew Rowley said: “He was released too early.”

‘A spokesman for Salisbury District Hospital said: “We are not currently treating anyone with nerve agent-related issues.”

So let’s get this straight. Rowley was convalescing following his ‘recovery from the effects of the nerve agent’. Having been ‘released too early’ he must still have been suffering from ‘the effects of the nerve agent’. He is now critically ill, being treated for something else and, according to the Hospital’s spokesperson does not have ‘nerve agent-related issues.’

But wasn’t he released ‘too early’ and therefore still subject to ‘nerve agent-related issues’?

It linked to a CNN article about a police officer who suffered fentanyl poisoning by brushing the drug in powder form off his uniform:

“A police officer in East Liverpool, Ohio, collapsed and was rushed to the hospital after he brushed fentanyl residue off his uniform, allowing the drug to enter his system through his hands. The officer had apparently encountered the opioid earlier in the day while making a drug bust.”

I think there was some confusion as to whether Sgt Bailey was at the park bench as well as the Skripal house in the hours after the poisoning. However, if fentanyl was the poison then this incident with the US officer shows that Nick Bailey could have received an overdose directly via his skin or his uniform etc.

Indeed. Another good spot. The story reinforces concerns that these substances represent a genuine public health danger, as they can be traded via the internet and thus distributed via normal channels. Under such circumstances it hardly matters that HMG would prefer to talk about ‘novichoks’ and the like. The simple fact is that the risk is more widespread than one might suppose.

An article in the Mail this evening caught my eye because it mentioned fire officers in hazmat suits investigating a death in a flat in Bath:

“A flat has been sealed off after police officers became ‘unwell’ while responding to the death of a man in his 20s.
Firefighters in hazmat suits were seen entering the property in the Weston area of Bath, Somerset, after an unknown chemical made some officers ill.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said it had taken precautions following the symptoms felt by officers earlier today.
A police spokesman said: ‘As a precaution and because some officers felt unwell after going into the property a search of the property being undertaken by fire officers.
‘We believe there may be a chemical which has been contained in the flat and there is no risk to the wider public from this isolated incident.”
‘We have closed the road off to ensure the safety of fire officers working at the incident.’
The man’s death is being treated as ‘unexplained’ but not suspicious, according to police.

It was not murder, or a result of violence, and a chemical is suspected. So, it may be drug related. I don’t know, but if it was carbon monoxide, then I would have thought that it would have been detected.

I must say you have your eyes on the prize! Almost immediately this piece has overtones of the very problem as I see it. These highly dangerous chemicals are being synthesized outside of controlled facilities and represent a very real public danger (I do not subscribe to the view that police officers, fire officers, postal workers and the like, being in uniform, do not represent the public in this context. The possibility of inadvertent exposure to a ‘nerve agent’ or its equivalent will not feature in their contracts of employment).

Thank you so much for bringing these oh so relevant items of news to our attention.

I really should have read your link before commenting earlier: Young man in his 20’s. Death unexplained but not suspicious. Discovered in a county bordering Wiltshire. Police officers unwell probably on account of a ‘chemical contained in the flat’.

And no, I do not think for one moment that the fellow had lit a badly ventilated gas fire, causing carbon monoxide poisoning. We’re still in August!

I think that that statement is a bit superfluous.
But I think that where a connection has been meant to be made is the article in today’s Mirror about Bill Browder: Putin’s assassins, Novichok of doorknobs, ex-MI6 agents for hire and the Magnitsky Act are all ingredients.

I am just reading an article about Bill Browder on ZeroHedge which gives an alternative view:

“So, the hedge-fund guy who renounced his U.S. citizenship in favor of a British passport gets the royal treatment whenever he runs to Congress. His narrative just fits so neatly into the demonization of Russia and the frenzy over stopping “Russian propaganda and disinformation” by whatever means necessary.”

As regards Bill Browder, he is an agent provocateur. Until recently it was possible to view on YouTube an extraordinary film – ‘The Magnitsky Act – Behind the Scenes’. It would appear that this has now been deleted as a ‘banned substance’.

Those of us fortunate enough to have seen it already will understand why in a heartbeat. It reveals Browder for what he is. What he is definitely not is the innocent victim of Russian persecution. Quite the reverse in fact. That he has been snivelling his way around Washington and European capitals with his tales of woe, encouraging embargoes makes him doubly loathsome.

BTW, in case you hadn’t noticed, discussion of the Skripal affair has resumed under Craig’s latest topic.

Just thought I would give links to a couple of articles regarding fentanyl in today’s Mail & Mirror:

“RCI incident: At least 21 guards, nurses and inmates sick after exposure to ‘unknown substance’ at US prison
Several people were rushed from the Ross Correctional Institution, in Ohio, US, and the area was placed on lockdown
Several guards and nurses and one inmate are reportedly experiencing ‘overdose symptoms’ after it’s believe they were exposed to opioid fentanyl.”

I was watching Vesti News the other night and the Russians are amazed at just how ropey this story is. As Craig points out this is a murder investigation that will never be even investigated properly let alone solved.